LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative, Governor Jerry Brown and a diverse group of more than 40 California corporate leaders, public sector partners and industry leaders met at DRIVE THE DREAM 2015 to announce new commitments and initiatives aimed at accelerating the continued adoption of plug-in electric vehicles and workplace charging in California.

Under Governor Brown's leadership, California has set the most aggressive clean transportation goals in the country, including creating a charging network to handle 1 million electric vehicles by 2020. Businesses and public sector partners have collaborated to initiate innovative programs and policies to enhance workplace charging, fleet vehicles and provide incentives to employees for the purchase of PEVs.

"California is known for setting trends for the rest of the nation and the world and DRIVE THE DREAM 2015 is no exception," said Janea A. Scott, Commissioner for the California Energy Commission and Chairman of the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative. "Workplace charging is a key component to encouraging more drivers to choose electric vehicles. The significant commitment and investment employers made today, and that we hope additional employers will make, to bring electric vehicle charging to California workplaces can help accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles."

The event, hosted by Creative Artists Agency and Century Park and sponsored by Chevrolet, Southern California Edison, NRG, Pacific Gas and Electric, ChargePoint and San Diego Gas & Electric, culminated with a press conference featuring Governor Brown. DRIVE THE DREAM 2015 showcased the latest plug-in electric vehicles and charging solutions. The Chevrolet Bolt EV concept car, which will go on sale in California in late 2016, was among the line up of vehicles on display. The event also featured new technology and programs that are available to California consumers and businesses to spur continued investment and growth in the PEV market.

"Major California employers have made significant sustainability commitments to plug-in electric vehicles at DRIVE THE DREAM 2015," said California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative Executive Director Christine Kehoe. "With their leadership, major investments in workplace charging, electric vehicle fleet purchases and employee incentives are part of a transportation transformation. PEV Collaborative member organizations, including the automotive industry, electric utilities, charging service providers and others, also welcome renewed commitments from DRIVE THE DREAM 2013 participants."

Significant new investments by companies and public sector partners that were announced at the event included the expansion of vehicle charging stations, purchase of PEVs in fleets and employee incentive programs to help increase investment in California, add jobs, improve air quality and reduce reliance on oil.

Highlights include:

U.S. Department of the Navy: The Department of the Navy announced plans to lease of more than 450 electric vehicles to replace gas-powered vehicles at Navy and Marine Corps bases across California.

Honda: Honda announced it is adding 120 new electric vehicle chargers on its Torrance, Calif., headquarters campus. The new chargers will be installed in two phases, the first of which has already begun. To support the local community in conjunction with the project, Honda is installing a publicly accessible DC Fast Charger on Harpers Way, adjacent to its campus.

San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E): SDG&E announced it will add more than 150 EV work vehicles to its fleet, including trouble trucks and aerial lifts. Since 2013, SDG&E has grown its workplace charging stations by 500 percent -- from 26 to 158 in 2015. In addition, the utility has offered three shareholder-funded employee incentive programs that have grown their employee EV ownership by 300 percent -- from 45 to more than 180. SDG&E announced today its "Race to 500," the utility's commitment to get 500 employees driving electric cars by 2020.

NBCUniversal: NBCUniversal announced it has invested in 64 charging spaces across its property in support of employees and guests who drive electric vehicles. Recently, 42 Level 2 charging spaces were added in parking lots across the lower lot, and eight Level 2 mobile charging stations were added for client temporary use upon request. These 50 EV charging spaces are among the most offered on a studio lot. In addition, 10 Universal City Plaza currently has two charging spaces and an additional eight spaces will be installed in 2016. When these new spaces come on line next year, NBCUniversal will have 72 Level 2 EV charging spaces available for employees and guests.

PG&E: PG&E announced it will invest $35 million for new chargers, workplace incentives, and expand its corporate PEV fleet. This includes adding 152 new PEVs to the utility fleet, continuing to provide employee incentives of $2,000 to purchase PEVs and installation of another 180 new employee charging stations throughout the state, bringing the total to 400. To date more than 700 employees have used $1.2 million in employee incentives to purchase PEVs.

The Coca-Cola Company: The Coca-Cola Company announced a doubling of its 2013 commitment in California, adding charging stations at seven Coca-Cola facilities in California. Coca-Cola is deploying 28 hybrid--electric service vans in California, marking the largest commercial hybrid retrofit program ever in the state. Through a partnership with XL Hybrids, Coca-Cola has converted more than 280 of its service vans into fuel-efficient hybrid-electric vehicles across the U.S. Coca-Cola currently operates more than 900 alternative fuel delivery vehicles on the road and its heavy duty hybrid electric truck fleet is the largest in North America.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP): LADWP announced it will purchase and lease 157 plug-in vehicles (117 Volts and 40 LEAFs) and EV chargers to support the vehicles. LADWP will make many of these fleet chargers available to its employees as workplace chargers. LADWP will also install 104 public chargers on city property, an investment of $5.5 million.

Ford Motor Company: Ford Motor Company announced that it has begun installing charging stations in California and currently has 145 units available for employee use at 43 Ford offices and manufacturing facilities in six states and Canada. There are plans to install 20 more in the near future, with ongoing discussions to increase the number in the long term.

Southern California Edison: SCE announced that over the next 12 months it is installing an additional 50 level 1 and 2 fleet charging stations to supplement our existing 340 charging stations that support its current fleet vehicles and future fleet acquisitions; it will acquire an additional 36 Plug-in EV (PEV) fleet vehicles, an approximate $4.5 million investment; it is installing an additional 25 level 1 and 2 workplace charging stations at Edison facilities to supplement our existing 100 stations in operation today, an approximate. $250,000 investment. Subject to CPUC approval, SCE is planning to implement its Charge Ready first phase pilot to support long-dwell time locations. SCE will continue its support of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) industry-wide pledge that calls for the company to commit at least 5% of its annual fleet acquisition budget to PEV purchases.

NRG: NRG announced that it has doubled its network in size in the last eight months from nearly 250 sites to more than 500 around the country. The company is committing its most ambitious network build out in California, offering more payment options and charges for more vehicles than any other network in the country. The network also reaches all the diverse communities in California, operating in six economic regions, with 20 percent located in underserved communities.

CBRE: CBRE announced it has partnered with an EV charging company in an education campaign to bring greater awareness of electric vehicle benefits to its commercial property professionals in 12 cities across the nation. Hosted at its managed sites, the sessions introduce best practices for installing EV charging stations. CBRE recognizes that commercial buildings are the new "gas" stations for its tenants who own electric vehicles is working to bring needed infrastructure and to be a catalyst for the EV industry at its more than 50 California office buildings of greater than 250,000 square feet.

Vision Fleet: Vision Fleet announced a goal to work with corporate, government, and other innovative fleets in California to deploy 2,000 PEVs in the state by the end of 2016. To help foster California's continued leadership in fleet electrification, Vision Fleet committed to working with at least 10 in-state corporate partners to identify and address cost-effective PEV opportunities by the end of the year.

This unprecedented and successful industry and government collaborative is working to ensure California's continued global leadership in the electric vehicle market. A full listing of PEV Collaborative members and more information about DRIVE THE DREAM 2015 is located at: www.pevcollaborative.org/drivethedream. Follow on Twitter @CaliforniaPEVC.

DRIVE THE DREAM 2015 featured nine leading auto manufacturers showcasing 12 new cars, demonstrating that electric vehicles are now available in all sizes and price points. Cars showcased included the Chevrolet Bolt and Volt, Tesla Model S, Kia Soul EV, Mercedes Benz B-Class Electric Drive, Nissan LEAF, BMW i3, Ford C-Max Energi, Honda Fit EV and Toyota Mirai. Also on display were the latest plug-in technologies from NRG and ChargePoint, an EV fleet vehicle from PG&E and electric bikes by Motiv Electric Bikes, among other sponsor exhibits.

ABOUT the CALIFORNIA PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE COLLABORATIVE: The California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative is a 45-member public/private organization focused on accelerating the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles to meet the state's economic, energy and environmental goals. For more information visit: http://www.pevcollaborative.org